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+--- Thread: Experiences with scar/areola reducing revision to peri-areolar? (/t-experiences-with-scar-areola-reducing-revision-to-peri-areolar)
Experiences with scar/areola reducing revision to peri-areolar? - lemmein - 03-05-2023
Hey, I'm looking for advice/experiences around a peri-areolar revision surgery.
I had periareolar 5 years ago or so. The shape and position is perfect (shoutout to Kneeshaw in the UK) but the areolas and the scars around them have stretched significantly. I don't have the confidence to go shirtless which was something I'd really hoped for from surgery. :(
I had a consult with Brendan Wooler, very jolly guy at the same hospital. He said they often get the complaint about scars/areolas stretching out over time post-peri, and they will perform revision surgeries 'at least a couple of times' in hopes of getting the desired look. I moved countries since then though, so I thought I'd try and find a surgeon here.
The surgeon here (van der Sluis) seems legit and sensible, super friendly, but he said 'I'm a lot less optimistic about the results than Wooler', and that 18 of the 20 times he's performed this sort of revision, the scars stretch back out. 'No matter if you keep the T-rex arms all the time, no matter if you stick to the exact instructions'. He suggested just getting the shape of them fixed with a smaller surgery under local anaesthetic, and getting the scars medically tattooed to camouflage them.
At the time I agreed, but I am now wondering if I should still give those odds a shot since I have no body confidence right now at all, and scar tattooing has to be repeated every few years. I would obviously prefer local anaesthetic and a smaller surgery (although I'm sure it won't hurt as much as the real deal did), but I don't want to regret that I would never have known whether a revision would have worked out perfectly. I am also a little concerned that the areola position could change, because like I said I am happy with that aspect of it.
For my first surgery, I was told from day one to perform regular physio stretches that were much too drastic (touching your hand to your back over your shoulder!?) which I blindly obeyed. One areola got infected and lost some skin. There was no scar tape or silicone strips either, which the new surgeon recommends. I think I had pretty bad conditions for healing the first time, and wonder if it's worth a shot under these better circumstances.
My question is: have you had a scar-reducing/areolar-reducing revision to peri? Or have you heard about any success rates for it? I want to know whose odds to trust - whether Wooler was too positive or van der Sluis is overly pessimistic. Thanks in advance!
RE: Experiences with scar/areola reducing revision to peri-areolar? - Joshua - 03-20-2023
Hi! I had a areola reduction surgery at 11 months post-op from Peri-Areolar. It worked out very well. I'm now 15 years post-op and my areolas haven't stretched out, they look like they did after the revision. Hope this helps!